Israel-Premier Tech owner Sylvan Adams has claimed that he has rejected requests from organisers for the under-fire team to leave the Vuelta a España, amid an ongoing series of pro-Palestine protests at the Spanish grand tour, arguing that withdrawing from the race would amount to “surrender to the terrorists”.
The Canadian-Israeli billionaire also dismissed recent reports that the squad is considering changing its name ahead of the 2026 season, branding the speculation “fake news” and asserting that his squad “will never ride without the name Israel”.
Following Adams’ comments, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the team on social media “for not giving in to hate and intimidation”.
Earlier on Friday, we reported that Israel-Premier Tech had firmly denied any suggestion that references to Israel will be removed from the team’s jersey and branding next season, in response to the protests against the squad’s ongoing participation in major cycling events amid Israel’s war in Gaza.
A spokesperson for the squad – the subject of an intense series of pro-Palestine protests at the Vuelta a España – told road.cc that the reports are “not true” and that there are currently “no plans to change the team name”.
Israel-Premier Tech owner Adams has since weighed in on the rumours himself in an interview with Israeli media, reaffirming his previous remarks that he will refuse to alter the squad’s “longstanding identity as an Israeli-based team, open to all”.
“Fake news. We will never ride without the name Israel,” he told Sport5 on Friday.
Despite what its name and branding might suggest – especially in a sport where Bahrain and the UAE also serve as title sponsors – Israel-Premier Tech is not officially state-owned. Instead, it is funded by Canadian-Israeli billionaire Adams, one of Canada’s biggest real estate investors, who emigrated to Israel in 2015.
Nevertheless, the squad has received some funding from Israel’s ministry for tourism and Adams – who attended Donald Trump’s inauguration, encouraged US attacks on Iran in June, and called on Israel to “finish the job” in Gaza – has described the team as “ambassadors” for Israel and a means of promoting a “more realistic vision” of modern Israel.
That ambassadorial role trumpeted by Adams has no doubt fuelled the growing number of protests by pro-Palestine activists against the team’s ongoing involvement at cycling’s biggest races, with things coming to a head this week at the Vuelta, where Wednesday’s stage in Bilbao was truncated following rowdy scenes at the finish.
Protesters have also run onto the road in front of the riders in recent days, including on Friday on the fearsome Alto de L’Angliru, causing the breakaway to come to a halt after demonstrators blocked their path with what appeared to be rope.
However, despite the protests, as well as safety concerns raised by their colleagues in the peloton, Israel-Premier Tech has insisted it will continue racing at the Vuelta, claiming that “any other course of action sets a dangerous precedent in the sport of cycling”.
And speaking to Sport5, Adams claimed that ASO, the owner of Vuelta organiser Unipublic, has asked him to withdraw the team from the race, a request he rejected.
“The CEO of ASO, Yann Le Moënner, also asked to remove the team from the race, but I told them that I was not going to do that,” Adams said.
“If we give up, it’s not just the end of our team, but of all the other teams. Tomorrow they will demonstrate against the teams from Bahrain, the UAE, and Astana.
“There is no end to the boycotts. They asked us to quit the Vuelta, but we did not surrender to the terrorists. I told them that they were wrong and that we had the right to stay.”
The 66-year-old also claimed that, despite ASO’s request, he has the “overwhelming support” of UCI president David Lappartient.
Meanwhile, Adams – who was following the race in the team car when the chaotic scenes in Bilbao prompted the organisers to curtail the stage with 3km to go – also criticised the pro-Palestine protesters at the Vuelta, branding them “terrorists”.
“We had two extremely difficult days in the Basque Country,” he said. “The region is known as a stronghold of far-left activists and separatists who like to protest. They are not our friends, that’s for sure.
“I remind you that in the 1960s and 1970s, the Basque underground [separatist group] ETA operated and formed an alliance with the PLO.
“We were not surprised by this unfriendly welcome, and yet I have never seen anything like this in a cycling race. A huge and disproportionate number of flags and signs for Palestine and against the State of Israel and enormous amounts of hatred.”
He continued: “In an unusual move, I decided to sit in the team car for the first time to monitor what was happening and make a decision in an extreme case. It was important to me to be there for the riders, some of whom feel threatened.
“They poured paint on our car, and at the end of the stage you all saw the rioters pushing the barriers and trying to break onto the course.
“The decision not to compete in the last 3km was the right one. It was not safe for the riders. The police tried to do their best in my opinion.
“I call this violent group terrorists because they are violent people. In the end, they destroyed all the fans’ bikes. The Basques have the best fans in the world and it’s a shame it ended like this.”
However, Adams also insisted that, despite the growing calls for his team to quit the Vuelta, they had also received support from across Spain.
“There were people in Spain who were disgusted by the whole thing, and we really got support on the road,” the 66-year-old said.
“There were a lot of people who encouraged us. Ultimately, we are a sports team and we want to compete and win. We want to continue to build the young riders that we develop in Israel Cycling Academy and that’s what we will continue to do.
“I always say that the best thing you can do is win and silence the naysayers, and I believe we can do that in the final stage in Madrid with Ethan Vernon, our sprinter.”
Adams’ comments come after Spain’s Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares became the most high-profile figure yet to call for Israel-Premier Tech to be removed from the Vuelta. Speaking on the Spanish public broadcaster, Radio Nacional de España, Albares confirmed he would support the team’s exclusion.
“I understand it, and I would certainly be in favour of it,” he said, while stressing that it is not the Spanish government but cycling’s governing body, the UCI, who has the power to decide which teams can participate in races.
Albares pointed directly to the precedent of the expulsion of Russian and Belarussian squads, including Russian ProTeam Gazprom-Rusvelo, from the sport in 2022, following the invasion of Ukraine.
“We cannot continue to maintain a normal relationship with Israel as if nothing were happening,” he said.
“Because we have to send a message to Israel, to Israeli society. They have to understand that Europe and Israel can only co-operate – as stated in Article 2 of the EU-Israel trade agreement – when human rights are respected, because as democratic countries we relate to each other in that way.”
40 thoughts on ““They asked us to quit the Vuelta, but we did not surrender to the terrorists”: Israel-Premier Tech boss Sylvan Adams hits out at “violent terrorist” protesters and dismisses name change “fake news””
I’m not a terrorist and Adams
I’m not a terrorist and Adams appears to bé totally behind thé slaughter by thé IDF and thé Israeli army look suspiciously like terrorists in their behaviour in Gaza. It’s ridiculous to accusé people protesting at thé Vuelta of being terrorists.
This is exactly the schtick
This is exactly the schtick you expect from this low life. The objectors are humans, he is the one supporting terrorists and cheer leading genocide.
Palestine is a terrorist
Palestine is a terrorist state. It didn’t have to be. They had all the time and all the money to turn it into Dubai, but they squandered all the money on trying to K1ll Jew5, while their leaders stole it all and ran off to Bahrain. Palestine is not suffering genocide, yet. Their population has been growing year on year. Good on IPT, don’t give into the terroist supporters. Give back the hostages and the war is over, it could have been over so long ago. Only Palestine and Hamas are keeping the suffering going, as it keeps the money rolling in to their leaders bank accounts in Bahrain.
Ah the old ‘ it’s not
Ah the old ‘ it’s not genocide as we didn’t kill everyone ‘ defence.
Palestine was and always will
Palestine was and always will be defending itself against a genocidal state. Free Palestine, forget the Zionist empire!
alexuk wrote:
Genocide is not about the overall population growth/decline of a nation. It is “the deliberate and systematic destruction of a racial, political, or cultural group”. And this is precisely what Israel is doing, and with terrorising determination.
If IPT do not decide to pull the name of the fa5cist state off their jerseys, in a way it’s even better. It will give people the chance to remind the world of the atrocities being committed every day, and a huge audience to be reminded of them.
What fantasy/fascist World
What fantasy/fascist World does alexuk live in?
festival, The Voice of Hind
The Voice of Hind Rajab, Kaouther Ben Hania’s dramatisation of the killing by the Israel Defense Forces of a five-year-old girl in Gaza, earned a 23-minute standing ovation, as well as chants around the auditorium of “Free Palestine”.
The film uses the real audio of Rajab’s phone call with emergency call handlers, where she pleads to be rescued from the car in which she was trapped after Israeli tank fire killed the family members around her. During the January 2024 incident, the ambulance sent to reach Rajab also came under attack and the two paramedics on board were killed. Rajab’s body, as well as those of her relatives and the paramedics were found 12 days later
Why the deliberate choice to
Why the deliberate choice to refer to these activists as “pro-Palestine” in every instance rather than ‘anti-Israel’ protestors? Can we not just call something as it is anymore?
Because those can be two
Because those can be two different things.
Being pro-Palestine usually means you support Palestine’s right to exist. Being anti-Israel can mean anything from being critical of Israel to not supporting its right to exist.
I’m sure you didn’t mean to but it’s important not to frame Israel and Palestine’s rights to exist as mutually exclusive.
It’s not that complicated.
It’s not that complicated. Some will know what I mean, others will never know.
It’s starting to sound like
It’s starting to sound like you’re confusing being pro-Palestine with being anti-Semitic.
Was I wrong to assume you were speaking in good faith?
Rereading all thé comments
Rereading all thé comments reminds me that this is really a cycling website and not in thé end a political forum. We need to get back to talking about handlebar widths and sock lengths and slagging off thé UCI …
darnac wrote:
The BTL comments are whatever the readers want them to be. The participation or otherwise of IPT in the World Tour is one of the most hotly-debated issues in cycling at the moment and one of cycling’s biggest races has been severely disrupted by protests about them. Recognising this, road.cc has reported extensively on the issues and events involved and readers have responded by giving their own views. Rather than tell people what they should and shouldn’t say, if you want to discuss handlebar widths and sock lengths feel free to start your own threads about them on the forum and if people are of like mind to you they can join you; in the meantime, if you don’t like the political debates just don’t read the BTL comments on political stories, it’s not hard.
Sorry but I get thé feeling
Sorry but I get thé feeling from your remarks that you seem to bé one of those people who like to dictate thé discussion, mais c’est pas grave as we say where I live. Also handlebars and socks âre just a jokey throwaway line, unlike thé UCI – that’s serious!
you seem to bé one of those
Réndêl’s whole point was that it’s not for anyone to dïctate thè disçussion.
¡Thânk yôû, glåd sømèöné gèts
¡Thânk yôû, glåd sømèöné gèts thæ pôïnt!
Ah, I sée!
Ah, I sée!
darnac wrote:
Regardez-vous dans la glace, mon brave, I haven’t told anybody to stop saying anything whereas you are telling people to cut out the political discussion and get back to cycling matters, so it would seem to be you who likes to dictate the discussion.
This really seems like a
This really seems like a futile debate
darnac wrote:
Perhaps you shouldn’t have started and then continued it then?
I could say likewise but this
I could say likewise but this all seems a little way from thé joy I get from cycling. I think in future I’ll avoid thé comments élément. I hope you get some joy from cycling too, as you don’t seem a very joyful sort. Tomorrow I’m cycling up our local col (I live at thé bottom) 1357m and average 4.7% and 17 km. Not too much but tough enough for an old man like me.
darnac wrote:
I have plenty of joy in my life, thank you, including, indeed especially, from cycling. I also get some incidental pleasure from watching people trying to row back on things that they’ve said and proffering childish insults towards people of whom they know nothing simply because they have correctly pointed out how wrong they are.
If you don’t like comments on
If you don’t like comments on stories with a political angle, then don’t read the comments.
If you like to just read and write about cycling, there are plenty of topics.
This is not hard to understand.
Yes, but you can be the
Yes, but (both with numerous posts on the topic) we can be the change we want to see…
Take the politics out of
Take the politics out of cycling then we can all get back to what we love. We, who are opposed to the IDF, did not start a team promoting Hamas.
At this point that team is
At this point that team is bad for cycling .The Israel name has been poisoned by the actions of the Israeli govt .The statements riders are giving for leaving are just damage limitation and most likly roders who leave will be under NDAs if they accept any payoff.
The Israeli govt are experts in being professional victims now .If tge damage to cycling continues they should be banned ,its not just about them
Mr Adams is deeply horrible,
Mr Adams is deeply horrible, and his views are more extreme than that of most Israelis. As are the views of Israel’s government.
kick this team off the Vuelta. And then kick off UAE, given the fact that UAE’s government is sponsoring the other genocide going on – in Sudan.
Not sure standing in the road
Not sure standing in the road with a banner qualifies as “terrorisim”. Bit of an overreaction there. However, the protestors do have a valid point: IPT Promotes a regime (like it or not, they are currently the regime in Israel) that is pursuing a genocidal war of retaliation. The tit for tat was done and dusted many moons ago, and now it’s just kicking people when they’re down.
Bigfoz wrote:
But as the UK government are now showing – it might – or at least “supporting terrorism”!
Remarkable how quickly governments can look like each other when “order” is challenged. Recall Russia / China where holding up a blank sheet of paper at the wrong time will get you nicked. (And that has now even happened in the UK!) (Thankfully you stand a chance of getting out in the UK still; Russian and Chinese authorities tend not to forget…)
Don’t think the UK Gov is
Don’t think the UK Gov is wearing the right trousers either. They’re on the wrong side of this due to commercial considerations, which is an apalling and damning place to be. Money talks and Labour bows down.
Far be it from me to be
Far be it from me to be cynical, but the poor and the afflicted (especially those in foreign parts) tend not to be able to hang out in the centres of power to lobby. And even their supporters struggle to afford dinners at The Ivy, or hospitality boxes at sporting events, or even to lay on all-expenses-paid fact-finding tours.
Commercial interests (and other governments) on the other hand…
Given that Labour got into government and not on the back of some kind of revolution / take over by the unions, one might raise an eyebrow at your “appalling” here. (Or rather – any degree of surprise attached).
Well done to Sylvan Adams and
Well done to Sylvan Adams and to the whole team for staying at the Vuelta and not letting the rent-a-mob win
dreamlx10 wrote:
Bit cheap chap, you have every right to disagree with them but lots of people are genuinely committed to a point of view to which you clearly don’t subscribe, calling them “rent-a-mob” is pretty childish.
Also has a whiff of
Also has a whiff of projection considering all the money and favours given out by Friends of Israel lobby groups.
Rendel Harris wrote:
I would say that some of them have no clue at all, not all but some would be hard pressed to find Gaza or Israel on a world map. Someone is spending heaps of money getting Palestinian flags made and handing them out like haribo off the TdF caravan.
So, you are happy for
So, you are happy for children to be murdered?
ErnieC wrote:
Any evidence at all for that assertion Ernie? I know obviously you’re very pro-Israel but I thought you were a bit more articulate and intelligent than to go for conspiracy theories. Assuming it is true (about some being hard pressed to find Gaza or Israel on a map) I’m damned sure that also applies to numerous US supporters of Israel.
So you support Israel blowing
So you support Israel blowing up Churches and killing Christians?
Billionaire hypocrite Sylvan
Billionaire hypocrite Sylvan Adams said,
“I’m happy to support a man wanted by the ICC as a war criminal in his use of terror and starvation against all the people who live in a poor country that produced terrorists. We of course are not terrorists because we are wealhy and we use our national army to do our work. I hope that’s clear.”